The results of the NHLPA’s annual player poll are here
Connor McDavid is the best forward. Sidney Crosby is the most complete forward. And stats aside, Carey Price remains the goalie no player wants to face with the puck on his stick.
Those were just some of the results from the annual NHLPA player poll released Tuesday.
Nearly 600 players participated in the questionnaire.
Here are the results:
BEST FORWARD
Connor McDavid, Edmonton (68.35 per cent)
While Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl was having the best season in the NHL, McDavid, who ranks second in scoring, remains the sport’s best forward. Draisaitl didn’t even crack the top 4, with Sidney Crosby ranking second with 14.93 per cent of the votes, followed by Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon (6.65) and Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov (2.88).
BEST DEFENCEMAN
Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay
(37.88 per cent)
You get the feeling that Hedman, who won the Norris Trophy two years ago and was a finalist in 2017 and 2019, is earning a sort of Nicklas Lidstrom-type of reputation in the league. Washington’s John Carlson, who is leading all defencemen with 75 points, ranked second with 21.35 per cent of the votes, followed by Nashville’s Roman Josi (9.04).
BEST GOALIE
Carey Price, Montreal
(41.55 per cent)
The Canadiens goalie ranks outside the top 30 with a 2.79 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage, but numbers apparently don’t tell the entire story. For the second year in a row, Price was the goalie players fear the most, followed by Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy (17.09 per cent) and Vegas’s Marc-Andre Fleury (9.93).
MOST COMPLETE PLAYER
Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh (45.56 per cent)
The Penguins captain has never won a Selke Trophy, but it appears that voters believe it’s only a matter of time. Crosby — also named the “player you would want on your team if you needed to win one game” — finished with more votes than four-time Selke Trophy winner Patrice Bergeron of the Bruins (25.44 per cent) and Florida’s Aleksander Barkov (7.50).
BEST TRASH-TALKER
Brad Marchand, Boston
(25.87 per cent)
The mouth (and tongue) of the league still belongs to the Bruins pest, who somehow was also named the “worst trash talker.” Los Angeles’s Drew Doughty finished second with 13.37 per cent of the votes, followed by Vegas’s Ryan Reaves (11.05).
PLAYER YOU WOULD PAY TO SEE PLAY
Wayne Gretzky (31.83 per cent)
Considering Gretzky owns pretty much every offensive record, it’s no surprise that they would pay to see his greatness up close. Bobby Orr finished with 14.99 per cent, followed by Mario Lemieux with 9.24.
BEST FEMALE HOCKEY PLAYER
Marie-Philip Poulin, Canada (39.92 per cent)
Two Olympic gold medals helped Poulin edge out Americans Hilary Knight (36.29 per cent) and Kendall Coyne Schofield (15.52).
BEST ICE
Bell Centre, Montreal
(31.75 per cent)
Edmonton’s Rogers Place (16.75 per cent) and Winnipeg ’s Bell MTS Place (11) finished top 3.
BEST JERSEY
Chicago Blackhawks
(28.25 per cent)
Vegas Golden Knights (6.83) Toronto Maple Leafs (6.83)
BEST MASCOT
Gritty, Philadelphia
(69.72 per cent)
Gnash, Nashville (2.80) Howler, Arizona (2.80)
FUNNIEST PLAYER
Keith Yandle, Florida
(17.98 per cent)
Drew Doughty, Los Angeles (6.94)
BEST BROMANCE
David Perron/Ryan O’Reilly, St. Louis (6.42 per cent)
Joe Thornton/Brent Burns, San Jose (5.05)
BEST NICKNAME
Tomas (Tuna) Tatar, Montreal (8.08 per cent)
David (Pasta) Pastrnak, Boston (7.31)
BEST PLAYER TO FOLLOW ON SOCIAL MEDIA
P.K. Subban, New Jersey (13.59 per cent)
Alex Ovechkin, Washington (6.31) mtraikos@postmedia.com Twitter.com/Michael_Traikos